Sunday, July 22, 2007

A Tart for Julia - Mango Lime Curd Tart

Mango Lime Curd Tart

My friend Julia came over for dinner Friday night because she is leaving for the University of California, Irvine where she will be a slave to science a part of the M.D./Ph.D. program. Here's to you Julia! Good luck down in Cali and keep an eye out for the bunnies that roam campus. :)

Mango Lime Curd Tart

Lime Curd
1/3 C lime juice, roughly juice from 2 small limes
1 to 2 tsp lime zest, zest from 1 - 2 limes
Save some zest on the limes to garnish the tart
1/2 C sugar
3 eggs
3 Tbsp butter

*Half a mango cut into 1/8 in crescent slices
1 prebaked tart shell
Additional lime zest for garnish

Start preparing the tart crust first (click here for tart crust recipe. The dough will need to chill for at least an hour, then rolled out, chilled again for at least 30 minutes, baked for at least 35 minutes, and then cooled to room temp.

Whisk the eggs, sugar, and zest together. Whisk in the lime juice and butter and cook the mixture of medium heat. Continue whisking until the butter is completely melted then use a spatula and stir the curd constantly. Cook the curd until the mixture has thickened. The spatula should leave a clear trail that slowly disappears. Do not overcook the curd otherwise it will curdle.

Immediately pour the curd through a sieve into a bowl. Use the spatula to push all the curd through. The zest will most likely remain in the sieve and you can discard that since it will no longer be a vibrant green. Press a sheet of plastic wrap against the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming on top. Chill in the fridge for a few hours to thicken slightly. The curd can be made a day in advance.

To make the tart, spoon the curd into the prebaked tart shell that has been cooled to room temp. You may not use all of the curd, I used about half (the rest you can spread on toast, yum yum). Arrange the mango slices on top of the curd and garnish with some additional lemon zest.

Mango Lime Curd Tart

*In retrospect: For even more mango in the tart (using a whole mango rather than half), arrange mango slices from half the mango in the tart shell before adding the curd. Then fill the tart with the curd and arrange the remaining half of the mango on top.

Mangoes are one of my favorite tropical fruits so this will be my entry for the 33rd edition of Sugar High Friday: Tropical Paradise hosted by Mary of Alpineberry.

22 comments:

Wendy said...

Sounds like a very tart tart. Perfect for me - I don't have much of a sweet tooth.

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

What a lovely send-off! I love any kind of lime tart.

Anonymous said...

What a delicious-looking tart. I love mangoes and love that it's in this recipe. Congratulations to your friend, Julia.

Paz

Brilynn said...

Beautiful tart and flavour combo, your friend will be missing on by moving away.

Rachel said...

yum! I love mango so much!

Anh said...

You are such a sweet friend Amy. Great tart for a special friend!

ayseyaman said...

I think, this is a lovely and delicious gift for your friend.
You are very kind.:)
Mango lime tart looks wonderful.:)

Anonymous said...

So pretty and so "sunshine"! :D
It represents California - she will be getting lots of sunshine.

Helene said...

Lovely gift to send your friend off on a new adventure. Great combination of flavors!

Alpineberry Mary said...

A very nice farewell for your friend indeed. I love the combination of mango and limes! Thanks for participating in SHF.

Cheryl said...

Wow, that is like picture perfect. You are quite a kind friend.

Patricia Scarpin said...

This is such a lovely gesture, Amy!!
I love the way you "spoil" your friend!

What a beautiful tart, mango is huge here!

Anonymous said...

Wow, it's so pretty!

Anita said...

Gorgeous tart Amy! I love the flavor combination!

Anonymous said...

What a delicious send off! I hope you'll be overnighting treats like this to her once she's officially begun her long nights of enslavement in the science lab. :)


Ari (Baking and Books)

Amy said...

Wendy,
I like the curd a little on the tangy side too.

Lydia,
Thanks! I love lime tarts too, I'll have to make another one since I still have plenty of limes.

Paz,
Can never have too many mango recipes. Yum. :)

Brilynn,
Thank you! I'll be sending her a care package once she gets down there.

Rachel,
Me too! The mango festival sounded like so much fun!

Anh,
Aw thank you!

Ayseyaman,
Thank you for your kind words.

Tigerfish,
I'm sure she'll love the sunny weather and bountiful produce.

Helen,
Mango and lime were really wonderful together.

Mary,
Thank you for hosting! I loved the theme, tropical fruits are my favorites.

Cheryl,
Aw thank you!

Patricia,
I wish mangoes were so plentiful here.

Peabody,
Thanks!

HungryKat,
Thank you!

Anita,
I loved the flavors too, I'll have to use this combination more often.

Ari,
Of course, she'll probably be overworking herself and will definitely need her sweets. :)

Wandering Chopsticks said...

Oooh, lovely send off. Hey Amy, since your friend is gonna be in my neck of the woods, tell her to contact me if she has any general questions about SoCal.

Amy said...

WC,
You are too sweet! I'll be sure to let her know!

Jerry said...

What can go wrong with Mango and Limes?

SteamyKitchen said...

Amazing! Congrats on the Slashfood mention!!

Amy said...

Jerry,
Definitely a winning combo in my book!

Jaden,
Aw thanks so much!

Chris said...

This is fantastic! Great friend you are...I would have enjoyed a mango tart when I was finishing my doctorate! :) Fabulous picture!

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin